Friday, July 12, 2013

A Clean Recipe

When I returned from vacation, my shower looked a little less than sparkling. For some reason, in the week that we were not using it, more shower grime had accumulated than I would like to admit. After cleaning the house completely, I tackled the shower for what seemed like an hour. I had previously tried several different methods of green cleaning for the shower and came away a little disappointed, thus buying a Clorox spray. I admit that I actually like the smell of it because it reminds me of summer days by the pool. So, I pretended I was by the pool while I scrubbed. You do what you have to do, right?

I spritzed a little bit of the spray but then decided I would finally try the tea tree oil and white vinegar mixture I had read about on Pinterest. I am never sure how those Pinterest ideas are going to go…sometimes they seem a bit extreme…like, add an eye of newt, some dishwashing detergent, a shoelace, a rose petal and voila! Sparkly clean! Your shower will smell like a spa. Right. Sure.

So with my new fillable sponge, anticipated chagrin and a deep desire to rid the house of all dirt, I mixed up 1) Distilled white vinegar 2) Softsoap HAND soap (I had tried this before with Method dishwashing liquid and it was a dud, so I am convinced this was the secret trick) 3) 11 drops of Tea Tree Oil. Why 11? Because I was going for 10 and an extra drop got in there. Maybe that was the secret trick.

I barely wet the sponge and started to scrub the worst part of the shower. I hang my head in despair to say that there was a dark mildew forming, hence the crazed need to immediately clean straight off of vacation. With ease, it started to come off. I hang my head further in despair to say that the mildew may have been forming for some time. That was the fuel to my fire! This combination of ingredients worked like a dream. "I must tell the world! I have found the best way to clean nasty showers! I have conquered!" I said as I finished my last scrub. At this point, the tea tree oil and Clorox spritz from earlier had pretty much gone to my head, so I was a little too excited. Note: the tea tree oil is not the most pleasant smell in the world. Light a candle and take a nap after the cleaning session. -Laurie